Once the door to the penthouse opened, Victor shoved Mark out, the door then closing behind him. "Not really necessary, Victor," Mark said to himself as he walked to House's office, "I came of my own accord. It wasn't like I was going to back out." He walked in front of the giant computer, House's face already on screen. "I believe that we have an agreement in place, do we not, Mr. Franklin?" "We still do, House, as far as I know." Mark took a quick glance around the room, getting an extremely bad vibe from the multiple securitrons facing him.

"Good. I assumed that you had forgotten, because I have no record of you ever entering Gomorrah since I gave you this assignment over a week ago. And do not try to tell me that you have. I have eyes and ears everywhere, so lying is pointless." "Well, the thing is, House, Veronica and I-" House interrupted him. "Mr. Franklin, I do not care for your excuses. I care about results. When I give you an assignment, I expect you to complete it in a timely manner. Given that Gomorrah is right across the street, it should not be taking you this long. I pay you handsomely and allow your friends to stay in the most luxurious rooms in existence, pre- or post-war. I gave these to you because I expect you to get things done. I am not used to people ignoring my orders."

Mark stared down House. He realized that any further attempts to tell House about being abducted would be pointless. He didn't really expect to work in the first place, but he figured it was worth a shot. "It'll get done, House. You can count on it." There was silence for a moment. "Mr. Franklin, you have until the end of the day tomorrow to get it done. Otherwise I will consider you and all of your friends to be…expendable. It would be a shame if anything happened to that lovely wife and daughter of yours now, wouldn't it?" That threat was left hanging in the air as House's face disappeared from the monitor.

Mark continued to stare at the blank monitor. His face was calm, but inside he was angry beyond comprehension. If House wanted to threaten him, that was fine. He could take it. It was the fact that he implicitly threatened to harm Abby and Amata that made him want to shoot everything in sight. True, Abby had been a bit of a shock, but in the brief time that he had with her, he had already become enamored with the young girl. The feelings he got when she called him 'daddy', and then hugged him, were indescribable. He knew already that he would never get tired of either of those occurrences happening again. House had also threatened the love of his life, the woman who was carrying his child, the physical manifestation of their love for each other.

He had agreed to work for House because he wanted to keep Amata safe first and foremost. But if House was threatening to hurt his loved ones to force compliance, then he would have to re-evaluate things. Mark shook his head, realizing that he had been standing in the same spot and staring at a blank monitor for the past couple of minutes. He turned around on the spot and headed back to the elevator before he did something that he would end up regretting.

When he got back down to the Presidential Suite, he found Cass leaning up against a wall, and saw Amata just come out of what he assumed was now Abby's room. Amata walked over to him and went to kiss him, when she noticed that he looked upset. To the outside observer, he looked calm, but she could always tell when something troubled him. "You look upset. What happened?" Mark took a calming breath. "I'll tell you later. Where is everyone?" "In tha kitchen, Captain," Cass said. "We're waitin' fer ya ta tell us where ya'll been. Veronica insisted that we wait fer ya." Mark nodded and picked his bag off of the floor. "Is Abby asleep, babe?" Amata beamed. "Yeah. You should see her. All snuggled up with her teddy bear. I swear, it is the most adorable thing that I've ever seen."

"Wait, you gave her Teddy?" Amata nodded. "She needed it, Mark. She needed it a lot more than I did." "Well, she must be special. You love that thing." "Well, I love Abby, and you, more. Besides, it's just a thing, and I am an adult. Eventually, you have to let go of childish things." He kissed her. "Well said, babe. Alright, you guys head into the kitchen. I'm gonna get changed and then I'll meet you in there." As Cass and Amata started to walk to the kitchen, he grabbed Amata's arm and held her back. "Do you have your pistol on you?" Mark asked her quietly. She looked confused as she lifted the right side of her shirt up, revealing her holstered pistol. "Yeah, why?" Mark looked in the direction of the kitchen.

"I think Veronica's gonna tell the rest of them about being part of the you-know-what, and Christine is, too, so just keep a hand on it." Amata looked in the direction of the kitchen and nodded. "Alright. I'll meet you in there." She gave him a quick kiss, and then headed into the kitchen. Mark went into his room, and a few minutes later, came back out and found ED-E floating in front of Abby's room. "Hey, buddy. Thanks for keeping an eye on my girl. Well, girls, now, I guess. I knew that I trusted the right floating robot." ED-E beeped a couple of times, and Mark smiled and patted the robot. He then made his way into the kitchen.

At one end of the long kitchen table, to his left, sat Veronica and Christine, holding hands. At the other end, to his right, were Arcade, Boone, and Cass. Amata had sat close to the middle, so Mark sat down to her right. "Ok. Cass, Boone, Arcade, Amata, you're probably wondering where we've been for the past week, as well as where we met Christine. It's a bit of a long story, so settle in. It began when-" Veronica interrupted him. "Actually, Mark, before we start, I have an announcement to make, one I was planning to make a week ago." Mark quickly whispered something to Amata. She nodded, and kept her hand on her pistol. Mark did the same with his pistol, keeping his eyes on Boone.

"When we met at the 188, except for Arcade, of course, I told you all that I was a 'procurement specialist.' That is true, or was true. I'm not really sure anymore. Anyway, what I didn't tell you was who I worked for." She paused, closed her eyes, and took a couple of deep breaths. "Up until five days ago, when I disavowed them, I was a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, and Christine still is." In the following moments, a few things happened. Boone immediately stood up and aimed his pistol at Christine or Veronica, Mark wasn't exactly sure which one. Christine stood up and aimed the LAER she had taken from Elijah at Boone. Veronica stood, but did not draw a weapon. Arcade and Cass ducked under the table. Amata stood and aimed her pistol at Christine, while Mark stood and aimed his at Boone.

There was a tense silence for a few moments. Mark then spoke, hoping to defuse the situation. "Ok, everyone, I think that everyone needs to take a breath, and more importantly, lower your weapons before something happens that you didn't mean to happen." "They're Brotherhood!" Boone shouted. "Do you know what they've done?!" "Oh, like the NCR is so perfect," Christine said snidely. "No," Boone said, "but at least we don't steal from people just because they have a piece of tech. You have no right to do that." "No, you steal from them by overtaxing them and you expand so fast that you can't even protect you own roads or citizens," Christine retorted. They both then shouted at each other at the same time, making their words unintelligible. "ENOUGH!" Mark shouted.

"Yes, both organizations have their flaws, and if you want, we can sit down and discuss that like adults, without the use of firearms." Amata jumped in. "And I just put Abby to bed, and if she wakes up, there will be hell to pay, and don't think for one second that I am joking." The look in her eyes and the tone of her voice made it clear to everyone that she wasn't. Boone looked at Mark. "Did you know?" "Did I know what, Boone?" "Did you know that she was Brotherhood?" he asked, indicating Veronica. After a few moments of indecision, he nodded. "How come she told ya and not us?" Cass asked. Cass and Arcade were now peeking above the table.

Mark sighed. He doubted an evasive answer would work right now, so he decided to tell them the truth. "Look, back east, I helped the Brotherhood with something, and before you say anything, Boone, that chapter is different. They actually protect the people. I helped them out, and they granted me honorary membership. I recognized her robe. The only reason Veronica didn't tell you was because she was worried about how everyone would react. Right, Veronica?" All eyes were now on Veronica, except for Mark's. Veronica nodded. "It's true. Everything that Mark just said is true. Their Elder broke ranks with Lost Hills. But like I said before, I disavowed them. Mark and Christine can testify to that fact." "Why?" Amata asked.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

All eyes turned to see Abby, leaning against the doorway, wearing a light blue nightgown and hugging her teddy bear. "What's going on?" "Uh, nothing, sweetheart," Mark said. "Amata, why don't you take her back to bed?" Amata narrowed her eyes and looked around the room, silently promising that she would make good on her threat. She handed her pistol to Mark, so now he had one pointing in each direction. Amata walked over and picked up Abby. "Come on sweetheart. Everything's gonna be fine." As soon as they left the room, Mark took a look around. "Ok. Emotions are running high right now, so our story isn't gonna happen tonight. So here's what is going to happen."

"We're gonna try again in the morning, when everyone has cooled off and had a chance to digest everything that's been said tonight. Right now, however, we're all gonna go in our separate rooms for the night. If you don't comply, I will shoot you, and I am not kidding. I just had an interesting conversation with House, and I'm in a 'shoot first, ask questions later' kinda mood. Arcade, Cass, go." Mark motioned towards the door with his right hand. Neither of them needed any additional prodding, and got up and ran out of the room.

Once Mark heard two doors close, he spoke again. "Alright. If there are any more incidents tonight, I will unleash Amata upon all three of you. Trust me when I tell you that she can get violent if she needs to, and the hormones are only making it worse. When she gets angry, her temper can rival that of a deathclaw. Boone, go." Boone did not move. "Boone! Go! Now!" Boone finally took the hint, and slowly walked out of the room, keeping his pistol aimed at Christine and Veronica as he went. Once Boone had gone into his room, Mark looked at Christine and Veronica.

"Both of you, go." Veronica spoke. "Mark-" "Uh uh. Not tonight. Just go, please. I'm not in the mood right now." Both Veronica and Christine had solemn looks on their faces as they left the room. Once they went in Veronica's room, Mark exhaled and holstered his pistol, and then massaged his temple. "Great. Now I have to be a goddamn peacekeeper."

He walked down to Abby's room, and Amata came out as soon as he went to open it. He caught sight of Abby snuggled up with her teddy bear, and he smiled. Amata then turned off the light and shut the door. "She's adorable, isn't she, daddy?" "She sure is, mommy." She glanced in the direction of the kitchen. "What happened with the others?" Amata asked. "I sent them all to their rooms for the night. Emotions were running too high for the story tonight, so we'll try again in the morning." They went into their room and shut the door, and then sat on the bed after they both disarmed. Amata snuggled close to him.

"So," Mark said, "tell me how you came to adopt Abby." She told him about that day, starting with her meeting with the King, then to finding Abby, taking her to the Followers, and then the decision she made to adopt her. "I couldn't just abandon her, Mark," she concluded. "I know you, and if you were there, you would have done the same thing." He contemplated it for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. I probably would've." "I mean, you always wanted a family of your own, and I know it happened sooner than we expected, but I don't regret that decision, Mark. I know it's only been about a week, but I love her so much."

Mark kissed her. "That's why I love you, babe. You have such an amazing capacity for love and kindness." He paused for a couple of moments, and then a goofy grin spread across his face. "She called me daddy, Amata. It's like the greatest feeling in the world." "I know what you mean, Mark. She called me mommy for the first time right before you came up, and I couldn't believe it. I don't think that I'll ever get tired of hearing that." "And I'll never get tired of being called daddy, either. And that smile. There's just something about it that makes you feel all warm inside." Amata smirked at him. "Well, it sounds like she's already got her daddy wrapped around her little finger." Mark laughed. "Yeah, I think she does." They were silent for a few minutes as they enjoyed being in each other's embrace.

"Well," Mark said eventually, "I think I'm gonna go take a shower." He stood up and stretched. Amata got up as well, and took off her shirt, revealing her chest covered by a lacy dark blue bra. "Well, I think that I'll join you. If I remember correctly, you do owe me a dual shower." Mark could only grunt in reply, transfixed by Amata's beauty. She grinned. "You like it?" Mark nodded dumbly. "Well, if you like that, then you'll love this." She then turned around and slowly took off her jeans, revealing her shapely posterior in a matching pair of panties. Mark couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed Amata by the wrist, and dragged her into the bathroom, Amata laughing as they went.

(7:30 AM, the next morning)

The next morning found Mark in the kitchen, cooking some eggs while quietly singing the song, "Mighty, Mighty, Man." Last night's shower had been very enjoyable for the both of them, although they both came out a bit dirtier than when they went in. After that, Mark had told Amata what House had said to him. She was a bit worried, but Mark told her that there was no way that he would let House hurt her or Abby. Amata had told Mark about everything else that had happened when he was gone, including her confrontation with Boone.

Mark had had an idea on how to handle the problems between Boone and Christine, so he ran it by Amata to get her input. He didn't think that she would approve of it, given the nature of it, but she actually decided that it was a good idea. She would help him get the two of them where he needed them to be. She felt that the both of them deserved it.

"Well, I'm a mighty, mighty man

I'm young and I'm in my prime

Yes, I'm a mighty, mighty man

I'm young and I'm in my prime

Well, I'm willing, I'm able,

I'm practically much alive…"

He then saw Abby standing in the doorway, holding her teddy bear while rubbing her eyes. ED-E floated above her. "Morning, daddy." "Good morning, Abby. I didn't wake you, did I?" She shook her head. "No. What were you singing?" "Oh, nothing, just an old song from back east. Take a seat, and we can have some eggs." She sat down in a chair, and put her teddy bear in the chair to her right. "Did you sleep well, sweetheart?" Mark asked as he put the eggs on a couple of plates. "Yes I did, thank you. Where's mommy?" Mark put the plates and forks on the table and went to make a couple of glasses of water. "Mommy's still sleeping, sweetheart."

Abby looked out into the hallway. "Oh. Should I go wake her up so she can eat with us?" Mark put the glasses on the table. "Nah, let's just let her sleep. She's been under a lot of stress lately." He sat down on her left and gave her a kiss. "Besides, between you and me, mommy can be kind of cranky when she doesn't get enough sleep." Abby giggled. Mark smiled. He would never get tired of that. "Eat up, Abby," Mark said as he began to eat. They both began to eat in a companionable silence for a couple of minutes before Abby spoke again. "Daddy, can I ask you a question?" "Sure, Abby, go ahead."

"Um, what happened last night? Mister Boone and Miss Christine seemed mad at each other." Mark was a bit surprised at how perceptive Abby was. "Well, Abby, they're both part of organizations that aren't on great terms with each other. They just need some time to adjust to being around one another. Don't you worry, though. I've got a solution to hopefully help speed up that process. OK?" Abby nodded, and they continued to eat. "Daddy, can I ask you another question?" "Sweetheart, you can ask me as many questions as you want. That's how you learn things. Never be afraid to ask a question. You'll be better off in the long run."

"Ok. Why did- why did you and mommy leave where you used to live?" That gave Mark pause. Did she mean Goodsprings, or did she mean DC? "What do you mean by 'where we used to live,' sweetheart?" "Mommy said you came from a place called, um, Washington, DC, and that it was really far away. Why did you leave?" Mark stared out the balcony door as he thought about what he should tell her. He could tell her that both of her grandfathers were both kind of liars, although one was forced to be by the other, which led him to be forced out of the vault and into the wasteland laughably underprepared to face it, which left mommy to deal with her psycho father. Then, while she was dealing with that, daddy became a reluctant hero in a completely unforgiving wasteland, eventually coming back to the vault to save it, only to be thrown out by mommy, which made daddy nearly make the stupidest decision of his life by leaving mommy behind.

He could have told her all of that, but he decided to put a pin in that, and tell her when she could likely handle it better. So he decided to tell her something akin to the truth. "Well, mommy's and daddy's lives became…well, let's say complicated. We decided that we needed to start over and simplify things, so we came out here with the help of some of daddy's friends. That led us to meeting you, so I think it's one of the best decisions that we ever made." Abby beamed, and Mark ruffled her hair. After another minute or so, she spoke again.

"Daddy, how are babies made?" Mark choked on the water he was drinking. Once he stopped choking, he looked at Abby. "Are you asking because of mommy, sweetheart?" "Yeah, I mean, I know it's in mommy's tummy, but how does it get there?" "Yeah, Mark," came a voice from the doorway, "how does it get there?" He turned and looked to see Veronica, wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt. She still looked weird to Mark without her robe. She sat down across from them. "Well, um, you see sweetheart, babies, they, um, boy is it hot in here or is it just me?" "Oh, it's just you, Mark," Veronica said, smirking at him. She enjoyed watching Mark squirm a bit. Abby looked at him expectantly. "Tell you what sweetheart. Why don't you ask mommy later? She's a lot smarter than I am. But for now, I do believe that you and that lady over there need to get properly acquainted. Go say hello to your Auntie Veronica."

Abby stood and walked around the table to Veronica. Veronica got out of the chair and went down to one knee. "Hi, Abby, it's very nice to meet you. My name is Veronica Renata Santangelo." She held out a hand for Abby to shake. Abby, however, bypassed that and hugged her. "Hi, Auntie Veronica, my name is Abigail Celeste Fields." Mark saw Veronica's eyes tearing up as she held the hug. Abby released the hug and Veronica wiped away her tears. "Well, Abby, I just know that we are going to be the best of friends. Would you like that?" Abby nodded. "That's great. How about you just call me 'Auntie Ronnie,' though. Auntie Veronica's kind of a mouthful." "Okay, Auntie Ronnie." Veronica smiled.

"Wanna go have some fun, Abby?" Veronica asked. Abby smiled and nodded. "Well that's great, because your daddy said that I get to teach you how to punch things." Mark jumped in. "Yes, in self-defense only. I don't want you going around punching people for no reason. I don't need your mother yelling at me." Veronica mock-pouted. "Aww, come on Mark. You're taking all the fun out of it." "Yeah, daddy, don't be such a sourpuss." "Wow. I was not aware that I had two kids already," Mark said in a faux-astonished tone. "Don't start, either of you. Veronica, why don't you just show her how to properly stretch herself out first. Then show her the proper form for each kind of punch. I know that you know that that's how they start in Brotherhood training, and that's what I want you to do for now. Once she has that down, we'll talk about actually hitting things. OK?"

Veronica saluted him. "Aye, aye, Captain Sourpuss." Abby broke out in a fit of giggles, as did Veronica, while Mark smiled and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Abby," Veronica said, "I'll race you to your room. Last one there's a smelly brahmin!" Abby then dashed around the table. Veronica went to follow her, but as she was running, Abby had moved a chair in Veronica's path, and Veronica tripped over it, crashing to the ground in a heap. Abby giggled and ran out of the room, ED-E following her. "Hey, that's cheating!" Veronica called out. Mark broke out in raucous laughter. Veronica picked herself up and glared at him. "Hey, aren't you gonna reprimand her or something?"

"Nope. Mainly because it was so goddamn funny." "Yeah, it's real hilarious how I almost broke my neck." "Oh, come on, I thought you Brotherhood types were supposed to be tough." That remark bought Mark a punch in the arm, making him wince and Veronica smile. "You enjoy that bruise, tough guy." Mark watched her walk out into the hallway and point in the direction of Abby's room. "I see you, you little cheater. I'm coming for you!" She then ran out of Mark's sight. Mark chuckled as he got up and brought their dishes to the sink.

It was about thirty seconds later when Arcade came into the kitchen. "Hey Mark, do you know why Veronica is chasing Abby around her room?" "It's nothing, Arcade. They're just playing." "Ah, okay. Oh, hey, um, in all of last night's, well, excitement, I guess you could call it, I never got the chance to tell you that I've made a breakthrough with my research." Mark finished washing the dishes and wiped his hands. "Hey, that's great, Arcade. Listen, I need you to come down to the gym with me to help me out with something, and while we do that, you can tell me all about it. Oh, and bring your medical bag, if you wouldn't mind. Things are gonna get messy."

(One hour later)

Mark and Arcade were in the gym, near the reception desk, talking, while they waited for Amata to shepherd Boone and Christine down here. Arcade had just finished telling Mark about the breakthrough that he made on his research. Mark slapped Arcade on the back. "Hey, that's great, Arcade. I knew that you could do it." Arcade waved it off. "All the thanks should go to you. If I hadn't gotten access to the lab, it would've taken years before I got the same result." "Arcade," Mark said, "I didn't do any research. You did. All the credit goes to you. This is your work, not mine."

Arcade went to respond, but at that moment, the elevator dinged open. "Showtime," Mark said as he walked near the elevator. Boone and Christine stepped out, clearly not comfortable being in close quarters with each other. Although in Christine's case, her claustrophobia may have played a part in that. "Mark," Christine said, "why did your wife force us to get in the elevator and come down here?"

"You're both here because of what happened last night. Before we go any further, however, I'm gonna need both of you to surrender any weapons that you're carrying, and put them on the desk." "Why?" Christine asked. "So we don't have a repeat of what happened last night. So you either surrender them, or you can find another place to live." Eventually, they both surrendered their weapons. Mark clapped his hands. "Wonderful. You can have those back when we're done. Now, follow me." Mark led them to the area of the gym reserved for boxing. In the ring, in two corners, were a set of gloves and protective headgear. "What are we doing here, Franklin?" Boone asked, speaking for the first time. "Arcade, shut the door please." Arcade walked over and shut and locked the door to the room.

"We're here because of what happened last night. You two are clearly mad at each other because of the organizations that you belong to, so-" "Wait," Christine interrupted, "why isn't Veronica down here too?" "A, because she is no longer a member of the Brotherhood. B, she and Boone have worked together and been around each other, so I don't think that she's part of the problem Boone has. Am I right, Boone?" Boone only grunted, and Mark took that as confirmation. "And C, she didn't point a gun at Boone last night. You did. Any other questions?" She shook her head, so Mark continued.

"Everyone seems to see me as the leader of this little group, so I've decided to start acting like, as Cass keep calling me, the "Captain." Sometimes the leader needs to make difficult decisions for the good of the entire team. So here's what's gonna happen. You two need to get the anger out of your systems, and this is the safest way that I can think of for you to do it. We're a team, and while teams can have disagreements, what happened last night is unacceptable. You two could've accidentally shot someone, like Amata or Abby. This way, we can work together without me having to worry if one of you is going to shoot the other. You are adults, so you need to start acting like it. I want Abby to see that people from different backgrounds can work together. It'll be a nice life lesson for her."

"So here are the rules. You two are gonna fight. You will fight until one or neither of you is able to stand before I count to ten, like they did before the war. The only other way the fight will stop is if Arcade thinks that one of you is in mortal peril. That's why I asked him to be here. Well, that, and to patch you up once this thing is over. As before, if you refuse to participate, I will ask you to leave the building altogether, and you can find another place to live. Do either of you refuse to participate?" Both Christine and Boone glared at each other. "I'm in," Christine said. "So am I," replied Boone.

"Great. Take a few minutes to stretch, and then we'll help you guys get geared up." About ten minutes later, Arcade was helping Boone get geared up, while Mark did the same for Christine. Once they were both ready, Mark walked to the center of the ring, and motioned for Boone and Christine to join him. "Alright, you two. Get it all out of your systems now. If anything like last night happens again, I will be very angry, and you will not like me when I'm angry. Go back to your corners, and come out when the bell rings. Oh, and Christine, keep everything above the belt."

They both retreated to their corners, both of them continuing to glare at each other. Mark walked out of the ring, and near a table with a bell on it. After pausing for a moment, he rang it three times, signaling the start of the fight. As they came out and started to circle each other, Mark grabbed a stool and sat next to Arcade, who was about fifteen feet from the ring. "I still don't think this is a good idea," Arcade said while staring at the ring. "I don't think it is either, Arcade, but this needs to end before it escalates any further."

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Until next time, and reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.